PBRC research student wins best oral award at National Institutes of Health summer research symposium

HONOLULU — Ramon Christopher V. Go, a Pacific Region Diabetes Education Program (PRIDE) undergraduate research scholar in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) at UH Mānoa won the best oral presentation award at the recent National Institutes of Health STEP-UP (NIH STEP-UP) Summer Research Symposium held at Colorado State University. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is one of eight universities nationwide that participated in the symposium.

The UH PRIDE program is directed by Dr. Healani K. Chang at PBRC and is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The program aims to fill the nation‘s shortage of minority individuals in biomedical research by exposing high school and undergraduate students to the exciting discovery of scientific inquiry early in their academic training.

Go worked in the laboratory with Meredith Hermosura, a researcher in PBRC‘s Bekesy Lab of Neurobiology, and presented results of a study on zinc permeation and its possible role in diabetes. The study, titled ʻTRPMB2 Provides a Pathway for Zin Influx,‘ is a collaborative effort that was performed in Dr. Hermosura‘s lab and in Professor Stuart Thompson‘s lab at the Hopkins Marine Station in Stanford University.

"Ramon was articulate, poised, and impressive with the depth of knowledge of his recently completed study," said Chang, who also attended the symposium. "He is a skilled scientific communicator and was able to explain his experiments to both lay and professional members of the audience."

In addition to Go, five other UH PRIDE scholars traveled to Colorado this year to present work they performed over the summer in various UH labs affiliated with the program under the mentorship of UH faculty/researchers.

About NIH STEP-UP
The NIH STEP-UP Summer Research Symposium is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and brings together undergraduate and high school research scholars from 6-8 universities nationwide. Participants of this year‘s symposium included: Colorado State University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Charles Drew University, Wayne State University, University of Washington and the University of Hawaiʻi. A total of 51 oral and poster presentations were showcased. Four awards were given, including: best oral and best poster presentation (undergraduate category) and best oral and best poster presentation (high school category).

About PBRC
The Pacific Biosciences Research Center at UH Mānoa seeks excellence in interdisciplinary biological research by fostering independent and original work and by training future academic leaders through education and research. The activities of PBRC are guided by principles of sustainability with respect for Hawaiʻi‘s culture, values and limited natural resources. It is the goal of PBRC to be a leader in Hawai‘i and the Pacific in education and research. For more information, visit http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/.

For more information, visit: http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu